People & Places

BEST GRAFFITI Minneapolis 2010 - Jimi Hendrix in Uptown

Jimi Hendrix appeared on the outer wall of a long-abandoned tool shop on Lyndale Avenue and 26th Street sometime during the fall or early winter of 2009. He looked a little worse for wear, sporting misshapen eyes that were either stoned or comatose, frazzled hair, and uneven teeth. But we knew it was him. We surmised that he was in a nostalgic mood, because his speech bubble asked us: "Are you exprienced?" But apparently it was a bad time to attempt a comeback, because a week or so later someone had sprayed a retort alongside the building: "With spelling?" A shamed Jimi was painted over about a week later.